TEHRAN – A total of 13 tourism-related structures including three hotels are currently under construction in Sanandaj, the capital of Kordestan province. 

A budget of 1.2 trillion rials ($28.5 million at the official exchange rate of 42,000 rials per dollar) has been allocated to the projects, Sanandaj’s tourism chief has announced. 

The projects, which constitute three four or five-star hotels, are expected to generate 450 job opportunities when completed, Khodadad Moludi said on Monday. 

The name Kordestan refers to the region’s principal inhabitants. After the Turkish invasion of Iran in the 11th century CE (Seljuq period), the name Kurdistan was applied to the region comprising the northwestern Zagros Mountains. It was during the reign of Abbas I the Great of Iran’s Safavid dynasty (1501–1736) that the Kurds rose to prominence, having been enlisted by Abbas I to help stem the attacks of the marauding Uzbeks from the east in the early 17th century.

ABU/AFM